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Sunday, October 7, 2012

Prince Lee 1994-2012 RIP

I never knew how to deal with loss. And I never really experienced loss so close to me.

This afternoon I received news from my ex in New York that my son Prince Lee had a seizure and he had decided to put him to sleep. As a gay man, I probably never would have any children, and Prince is the closest thing to a son to me – which is why he inherited my last name.

Prince has been there for me through my highs and my lows. He was an excellent cuddle buddy. And in my darkest hour when I had alienated the world, he was there to keep me company. In 2007, he was attacked by unleashed dogs and had to be in the emergency room for four days. He did not fully heal til three months later. Despite all the challenges in life, his will to live had been an inspiration for me, and I would like to dedicate this post through photography on our lives spent together.

2005. At SML Universe NYC Backyard

2005. Playing with toys

2006. Chewing with all the attitude

2006. Chilling out in hand-knitted sweater

2006. Scared by the Macro twin lite

I know it's crazy but I bought all my macro gear just to photograph Prince!

2006. Snout :)

2006. Menace

2006. The Last Laugh

2006. ”Coffee”

2006. I'm a lion

2006. Untitled

2006. Beauty Queen

2006. Licking Action

His tongue is quite amazing. :)

2006. Charmed

2006. Stop bothering me when I'm sleeping

2007. Prince Scarlet

2007. Recovering at the backyard

Pain in his eyes, but still a will to live – my inspiration, my hero.

2008. Somewhat recovered, walking on a rainy day

2009. Treasure hunting

2009. Fresh after haircut

2009. Bored

2009. Prince

This is the last photograph I took of Prince. I had broken up with my ex by then. It was his dog. But he remains my son. I did say goodbye before I leave New York for Hong Kong. At 18 years old, he was very old and can barely recognize me.

If seeing my dog die will bring so much emotion, I learned that it must be hard for my parents when I contemplated death a while back. Even through death, Prince was an inspiration for me to live, and for that I am forever grateful and thankful.

7 comments:

While there is a clear demarcation line between human beings and other creatures, if we pick one other creature that can be very close to being human, many will choose dogs. Prince is surely outstanding on being human. It reminds me films like 義犬報恩.

Seeming, I can appreciate how you feel, particularly because I have lost a good friend recently. My friend did not even live with me like Prince did with you. However, she was equally inspiring in dealing with the numerous challenges in life that she had faced. When I read your post, I also feel you have so much love and kindness in you (and around you too) that could be a strong impetus to live because you have a lot that you can give - it's just a matter of finding a way to express it.

I think only people who have pets understand how deep the connection can be and the enormity of the loss when it inevitably happens. One of my dogs passed away almost two years ago and I still think about him more than I ever would have imagined.

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